Week four of the college football season was hyped up to be one of the best weeks of the season, consisting of a dream slate of games, and for the most part, it lived up to the hype in a big way. Entertaining games abounded, but there were also more than a couple of highly-anticipated games that ended up being blowouts, including a certain game in Eugene, Oregon.
But I’ll save that one for later. Let’s get into some takeaways!
Michigan does not look like a championship-winning team
For much of Michigan’s game against Rutgers, I felt that the Wolverines looked like they were playing half asleep. Now, it’s important to note that they woke up in the second half and secured a 31-7 win over a Rutgers team that, while it is better than in years past, is not nearly as good as a team like Michigan.
But here’s the thing: the way Michigan started did not look like a team that is good enough to win a national championship. And more importantly, quarterback J.J. McCarthy has not convinced me that he is the guy to lead this team to a national championship.
The Wolverines were only up by seven points at halftime, and through one quarter, it sure looked like Rutgers was playing well enough to possibly pull off a massive upset. The Scarlet Knights’ defense made McCarthy and the Michigan offense look uncomfortable for practically the entire half.
Now, granted, I give props to the Wolverines: they woke up in a big way in the second half and put the game way out of reach. But keep in mind, that was largely thanks to forcing turnovers and Rutgers playing sloppy football. What I’m saying is that the Michigan offense, and more specifically McCarthy, did not convince me that it is the unit that can help lead this team to a national championship.
This year, this year right here, is supposed to be the year for Michigan. This is supposed to be the year the Wolverines put it all together and finally break through to win a national title.
But as things look right now? This team doesn’t look like a national championship-winning team. Color me skeptical.
Pump the brakes on the Oklahoma hype train
Okay, maybe I overrated Oklahoma, just a teeny tiny bit.
Because the fact of the matter is they did not look the way I thought they would in the aftermath of a 20-6 win over Cincinnati. Now, I understand that they were playing on the road in front of a raucous crowd and that Cincinnati is a tough, physical, pesky team.
But the offense for the Sooners just looked…out of sync in most aspects. Out of sorts. Not the dominant type that we had seen over the first three weeks of the season. They were able to get a little something going in the fourth quarter to officially put the game away, and that was thanks to dynamic quarterback Dillon Gabriel.
But in order for them to keep pace with a Texas team that is firing on all cylinders (more on them in a minute!), they will need to have more dominating performances going forward. They have a very good opportunity to prove just how good they are next week against Iowa State, before the Red River Rivalry showdown with Texas on Oct. 7.
Time to start taking Texas seriously as a national contender
If you weren’t already, now is the time to take notice.
And to think I thought last week that this game could have been a trap game for the Longhorns. Insert laugh track sound effect here.
In all seriousness, though, Texas’ offense, after a somewhat slow start out of the gate, turned on the burners in the second quarter and never looked back, absolutely dominating the Baylor Bears in all aspects of the game in a 38-6 win.
Quinn Ewers once again had a fantastic game, throwing and rushing for one score each, and while his stats don’t quite jump off the page, his impact on the game and on this Texas offense cannot be overstated, as he was making excellent, accurate throws and making plays happen with his legs.
He has proven himself as a dual-threat option, as when Baylor had everyone covered downfield, he has demonstrated that he’s more than capable of making plays with his legs, as emphasized by his 29-yard touchdown scamper in the second quarter to extend the Longhorns’ lead to 11.
And outside Ewers, this offense is brimming with talent, as running back Jonathan Brooks had a monster game, rushing 18 times for 106 yards and two touchdowns. Xavier Worthy, who was on the other side of Ewers’ only touchdown pass, and Adonai Mitchell are obviously going to be the headliners on the outside, but Ja’Tavion Sanders continued his excellent start to the season by hauling in five receptions for 110 yards.
This Texas team is a legitimate contender. The Longhorns are flashy, tough, physical and they can make plays everywhere on the field and can beat you in so many different ways. The defense bottled up the Baylor rushing attack and made it look easy throughout the night.
The Red River Rivalry with Oklahoma in two weeks looms large for the Longhorns, as well as a showdown with No. 24 Kansas next week. But after this dominant win, and just judging by the way they’ve looked so far, the Jayhawks and the Sooners will be hard-pressed to slow down this white-hot Texas team.
Slow down the Colorado hype train, too
I had a feeling something like this would happen. It was only a matter of time.
Colorado’s dream season hit a big roadblock this past Saturday, as they were squashed by a far-superior Oregon team 42-6 in Eugene, and it just looked like Colorado was not ready for an opponent of this caliber.
Bo Nix carved up their defense to the tune of 276 yards and three touchdowns, while also adding another score on the ground. For the Buffaloes, do-it-all star Travis Hunter was sorely missed, and quarterback Shedeur Sanders looked pressured and uncomfortable all game as the offensive line woes for Colorado really stuck out.
The Buffaloes did a good job of hiding their issues over the first three weeks, but now that they’re getting into the thick of things in conference play, their weaknesses should be more glaring as they face better and more battle-tested opponents.
Speaking of that, what’s on the docket for next week? Ah, look at that! A marquee matchup with Caleb Williams and No. 5 USC! This game should be a good one, and it’s also got a good chance to be a big-time barnburner, with points being put up all over the place. Because if there’s one thing we know about these offenses, it’s that they can really light it up when they want to.
But for this week, Colorado was exposed. They have some issues to contend with. Am I saying it’s suddenly a bad team? No. In fact, I think this is a good team. The Buffaloes are certainly much better than I (or any of the rest of the country) anticipated. But they’ll need to keep an eye on some of the sore spots going forward.
Ohio State is also not entirely convincing me yet
I thought that if the Buckeyes could go into South Bend and put it to the Irish in convincing fashion, then I would be convinced that they are, once again, a legitimate College Football Playoff contender.
Instead, they barely scraped out a 17-14 win thanks to Chip Trayanum’s game-winning touchdown run. To be completely honest, I was not impressed with either team in this game, as the offenses for both were largely stagnant and failed to get much going throughout the game.
Kyle McCord, on a night where I expected him to make a statement to the rest of the country, was simply meh. Ditto for Notre Dame quarterback Sam Hartman. I expected much, much better quarterback play than what I got.
It’s becoming more and more clear that Ohio State’s best asset is its running game, and it was confirmed in part thanks to the performance of TreVeyon Henderson, who had 14 carries for 104 yards and a score, the only other score for the Buckeyes aside from Trayanum’s game-winner.
Marvin Harrison Jr. had another quiet game, only catching three passes for 32 yards. I’m getting a little worried that this is becoming something of a trend, and for a prospect that is as hyped-up as Harrison Jr. is, then this is a discouraging sign for NFL scouts. I have faith that he can turn it around and start producing at a high level consistently again, but said turnaround will have to be soon.
But Ohio State has some issues. McCord is still feeling his way into this offense. That tends to happen when it’s your first full season as a starter, but McCord needs to finish up that process sooner rather than later if the Buckeyes want to contend for the College Football Playoff.
Michael Penix Jr. is still putting up video game numbers
What else is new?
Penix Jr. had another outstanding game on Saturday, as Washington boat-raced a rather hapless California team 59-32. Penix Jr. threw for 304 yards and four touchdowns. Sure, he had one interception, but who really cares? The fact is that he is putting up some of the most insane statlines we’ve seen from a quarterback in the modern era.
The team around him is, as one might’ve been able to guess, excellent as well, and wide receivers Ja’Lynn Polk and Rome Odunze both had incredible games. Polk caught eight passes for 127 yards and two scores, and Odunze caught five passes for 125 yards and another two touchdowns.
An underrated aspect of this Huskies team is its running game, which has quietly been producing. It has, understandably, gotten lost in the shadow of Penix Jr. 's monster play to open up the season. This past weekend, Dillon Johnson ran 10 times for 66 yards and a score, and that has been a somewhat underappreciated aspect of Washington’s offensive attack.
Next week, the Huskies travel to Tuscon to face Arizona, which shouldn’t be much of a problem, because while Arizona is not a bad team by any means (off to a solid 3-1 start), Washington is just that much better. But the real test is a showdown with No. 9 Oregon in Seattle. Penix Jr. will go head-to-head with fellow Heisman contender in quarterback Bo Nix, and that game is on a trajectory to be one of the best of the season. But the fact remains: Penix Jr. is still putting up video game numbers, and he remains my Heisman frontrunner until further notice.
Elms' Essentials: Week 12
